Freyja is a shining light
Ravenswood trainer-driver Jocelyn Young has enjoyed outstanding successes with pacing mares in the past couple of seasons, and she is looking forward confidently to further wins with comeback mare Freyja, who has bright prospects in the $30,000 Perth Now Fillies and Mares Restricted Summer Feature at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Freyja is giving every indication that she will follow in the winning footsteps of Young-trained mares Steno, The Amber Hare, Castella Dellacqua and Peaceful.
Between those four mares they have won 27 races for Young in the past three years --- after Young had prepared star mare Has No Fear for five wins between 2020 and 2022.
The Victorian-bred Freyja is on the comeback trail after being out of action for three years and four months following a tendon injury sustained after she had scored an all-the-way Pinjarra win in early August 2021, with her first four starts in her current campaign producing two wins and two second placings.
“Freyja is on the way up after a long break,” said Young. “She has drawn barrier three on Friday night and she has reasonable natural gate speed. It’s an even bunch, and she is racing well enough (to win).”
Freyja was most impressive at her latest appearance --- when she was restrained from barrier six and was last in the field of nine at the bell before sustaining a powerful three-wide burst to finish second to Petes Honour over 2100m when she sprinted over the final 400m sections in 28.32sec. and 27.71sec.
Freyja is a seven-year-old by Betterthancheddar and has had only 18 starts for six wins and four placings. Among her toughest rivals are Our Lady Jen, Hunt The Magic, Unlucky, Blaze Coops and Jackie Daniels.
Our Lady Jen, trained and driven by Dylan Egerton-Green, was a dashing winner at a 1.56.1 rate over 1730m last Friday night, and she will start from the inside of the back line in Friday night’s 2130m event.
Our Lady Jen was badly hampered for room in the back straight in last Friday night’s race before she got into the clear 250m from home and finished strongly to win by two lengths from Jackie Daniels, who impressed in running home from last at the bell.
Veteran trainer Ian Gossage will be giving five-year-old Hunt the Magic her first run for eight months, and she will be tested after starting from the outside barrier (No. 9).
Outstanding young reinsman Kyle Symington has given punters a valuable lead by choosing to drive Hunt The Magic ahead of the Ryan Bell-trained Bella Ragazza, a mare he has driven at 17 of her past 23 starts, including a win at Narrogin three starts ago.
Symington handled Hunt The Magic, a winner at seven of her 37 starts, in two recent Byford trials for a nose second to Cooper and a third to Captains Beachbabe.
Lindsay Harper trains and drives Unlucky, who has drawn the coveted No. 1 barrier. Unlucky impressed two starts ago when she began from the outside of the back line and was tenth at the bell before charging home out four wide to finish a one-length second to Secret Reaction in the $30,000 Coulson Pace.
“Unlucky has reasonably good gate speed; she is going good and is an each-way chance,” said Harper.
Blaze Coops, a veteran of 84 starts, bounced back to form for trainer Shane Tognolini with an all-the-way win over 2185m at Pinjarra on Monday, rating 1.55.7 at her first appearance for almost two months.
She will be driven by Kyle Harper from out wide at barrier seven, and there is every possibility she will burst straight to the front.
Gary Hall jnr will drive Princess Katie from the No. 8 barrier, and the four-year-old looks tested despite her excellent form in four starts in Albany when she won twice and finished second twice.
Suvaljko opts for Mister Montblanc
Shannon Suvaljko, WA’s leading driver last season with 197 winners, has given punters a good lead by choosing to handle Mister Montblanc ahead of Captains Beachbabe in the Hoist Torque Handicap, a stand over 2503m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
Mister Montblanc, trained by Annie Belton, will start from the 30m mark, with Captains Beachbabe, the only mare in the field of eleven, the only runner on the front line. She will be driven by Stuart McDonald.
Mister Montblanc has a losing sequence of 14 but he is knocking on the door after finishing second at four of his past five starts, with his latest appearances producing excellent seconds in stands, behind Caliente and Mandown. His previous five runs in stands produced two wins and three unplaced efforts.
Captains Beachbabe has recently entered the Mardella stables of Michael Young, and she made a good impression at her first outing for him when she covered a lot of extra ground before finishing second to Kolisi over 2265m at Albany last Saturday.
Young’s other runner in Friday night’s event is My Ultimate Chevron, who will be driven by Maddison Brown off the 30m mark, is in splendid form and looks set to fight out the finish. He started off the 60m mark when a winner over 2648m in Albany three starts ago. Since then, he has finished third in a stand behind Mandown and Mister Montblanc and was a fast-finishing third in a mobile event behind Classic Choice at Gloucester Park.
The Chris Voak-trained Caliente is the class runner in the field. He will be driven by Chris Lewis and is a standing-start specialist, capable of overcoming his handicap off the back mark of 40m.
Matt Scott’s veteran pacer Gee Smith, to be driven by Deni Roberts, is well placed on the 10m line for his 160TH start in a race. He was hampered for room until the late stages when a close second to Rock Me Over in a 2536m mobile event on New Year’s eve.
Scott will also be represented by Mydadtheterror, who will be making his Gloucester Park debut after his first two starts in WA produced a first-up victory when he set the pace and beat Im The Best in a 2400m stand at Busselton on December 26, and a well beaten fourth behind Jackpot Joe in a 2030m start on the same track six nights later. He will be driven by Aiden De Campo off the 10m mark.
Speedy mobile performer Mr Fantastic has changed stables and will be having his first start for Baskerville trainer Ryan Bell. He will be driven by Kyle Symington, starting from the 30m mark.
Symington likes Swingband
Star young reinsman Kyle Symington is preparing for a busy time at Gloucester Park on Friday night when he will be in action in six of the eight events.
He has labelled Swingband as his best drive, with the Ryan Bell-trained six-year-old starting from the No. 6 barrier in the $31,000 Gloucesterpark.com.au Pace over 2130m.
This will be Swingband’s first appearance for five weeks, with Symington explaining that the brilliant pacer was best suited with a space between runs.
“He likes going in fresh,” said Symington who drove Swingband to an effortless victory over 2130m five weeks ago, rating 1.54.8 after final quarters of 28.7sec., 27.9sec. and 28sec. Swingband was racing first-up after four weeks for that event.
Swingband has been lightly raced in his current campaign of four starts when he clashed with stars of the quality of Mister Smartee, Jumpingjackmac, Captain Ravishing and Minstrel.
This week Swingband will line up against outstanding pacer Lavra Joe, a winner of 35 races and $796,258 in prizemoney, as well as Machnificent, who burst back to his best form last Friday night when he charged home from seventh at the bell to win from Lavra Joe and Goodfellaz, rating 1.55.5 over 2130m.
Machnificent, trained by Katja Warwick, will again be driven by Emily Suvaljko. He will begin from the No. 3 barrier, with Suvaljko saying: “I will have to sit down and study the form. He’s good with a sit but he is a better horse in front.
Lavra Joe, trained by Ray Jones and to be driven by Maddison Brown, will begin from the outside barrier in the field of eight. He also started from the No. 8 barrier last Friday night when he raced wide early and then in the breeze, with Brickies Dream setting a fast pace. Lavra Joe got to the front with about 580m to travel before being overtaken in the final few strides by Machnificent.
Bell and Symington also will have many admirers when they combine with Waverider in race three and Hillview Bondi in the final race.
Four-year-old Waverider is the youngest runner in the $23,000 Vale Reg Luck Pace over 2130m, a race in which his chief rival appears to be the only mare in the event, Montana Glory, who will start from the No. 2 barrier on the back line.
Waverider is a winner at eight of his 19 starts and has the ability to overcome the disadvantage of the outside barrier (No. 9) on the front line.
Waverider will be having his first start since he began from barrier nine and raced in sixth position, one-out and two-back, when third behind Frisky Styx and Mikis Beach over 2130m four weeks ago.
He began a three-wide move 750m from home and dashed to the front 430m later before wilting in the final stages. “He was a bit disappointing at his latest start when he looked likely to win but pulled up half-way up the straight,” said Symington.
“He’s good now but he has drawn the river. However, I think this is a drop in grade for him.”
Symington will join forces with Hillview Bondi when the seven-year-old starts from barrier six in the $31,000 Running Camel Pace, in which three of his six rivals (Flying Rumour, Ragazzo Mach and Hoppys Way) are prepared by Mike Reed.
Bell took advantage of Joey Suvaljko’s concession last Friday night when the promising young reinsman rated Hillview Bondi in front in fine style on his way to winning from Regal Cheval.
“Hillview Bondi can definitely earn,” were Symington’s thoughts on the gelding’s prospects on Friday night.
The best of Reed’s runners is Ragazzo Mach, who will be driven by Shannon Suvaljko from the No. 4 barrier.
Ragazzo Mach has not won for more than two years but his recent form indicates he will pay to follow. He was unlucky last Friday night when he finished fifth behind High Price after meeting with severe interference after a lap had been completed.
Storyteller keeping up family tradition
New Zealand-bred pacer Storyteller is maintaining an excellent family tradition, and he looks set to improve his record by winning the opening event, the $21,000 Retravision.com.au Pace over 2130m at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
He is a younger half-brother of Our Alfie Romeo and Sista Sammy, who have raced successfully in Western Australia, with Our Alfie Romeo winning at 19 of her 43 starts in the State, and Sista Sammy’s first 17 WA starts producing five wins and six placings.
Storyteller is raced by Team Bond in partnership with octogenarian Garnie Cowie, who bred these three smart pacers with his brother Jack.
Storyteller raced twice in New Zealand, as a three-year-old in April 2023 for a nose second to the pacemaker Glaucus over 2400m at Winton, followed by a most impressive last-to-first victory over 2200m at Invercargill.
He is trained in WA by Gary Hall snr and will be driven on Friday night by Gary Hall jnr. He will begin from the prized No. 1 barrier and Hall jnr will be looking for an all-the-way win. Hall has driven the five-year-old only three times for three wins, and the gelding should improve considerably on his WA record of twelve starts for five wins and two placings.
“Storyteller is going okay and is a good chance,” said Hall. His chief rivals are expected to be Blaze On (Maddison Brown; barrier seven) and Mister Macedon (Emily Suvaljko; barrier two).
Eight-year-old Mister Macedon, trained by Nathan Turvey, is in fine form, with two wins, a second and a fourth placing from his past four starts.
“I would like to lead with Mister Macedon,” said Suvaljko. “But if Storyteller wins the start, being on the leader’s back will be a good spot. “Mister Macedon did a lot of work before finishing fourth behind Heez A Vibe last week. He looked gone on the corner, but he fought on strongly up the straight.”
Blaze On, to be driven by Maddison Brown for trainer Michael Young, has good ability but has been racing without luck.
Hall is also optimistic about his prospects with the Young-trained Illawong Mustang in race two, the 2130m Allwood Stud Devoted To Breeding Excellence Pace. Eight-year-old Illawong Mustang impressed with the ease of his all-the-way win over 2265m at Albany last Saturday night. He will start from barrier four, with Hall keen to set the pace.
Toughest for Illawong Mustang to beat is likely to be Insta Gator, who will begin from out wide at barrier eight.
Trainer-driver Jocelyn Young is looking for a strong showing from Insta Gator, who began from barrier eight in a 2130m event last Friday night when he was restrained to the rear before dashing forward to race without cover and then fading to seventh behind Chivalry.
“If Insta Gator is anywhere near his best he can overcome the wide barrier,” said Young. “Last week he wasn’t quite ready to sit in the breeze. He had missed a month when suffering from a virus. He needed the run last week and should improve this this week.”
Hall said that his best winning chance was Regal Cheval, a ten-year-old he trains. “This is a massive class drop for him, and he should lead (from the outside barrier at No. 8) and win,” said Hall.
Regal Cheval led in the early stages last Friday night before trailing the pacemaker Hillview Bondi and then finishing with a spirited late burst to be a half-length second to Hillview Bondi.
